When Volkswagen presented the first Golf and thus successor to the legendary Beetle in 1974, the car industry was shocked to the core. With front-wheel drive, the large boot lid, fold-down rear seats and Giorgetto Giugiaro's straightforward design, the Golf became a sales stopper in no time. As early as 1976, the sales counter hit one million units. Today that counter stands at 37 million units sold. In its eight generations, this makes the Volkswagen Golf the most successful European car, the best-selling Volkswagen of all time and an icon.